‘Are you all right?’ she asked in a tentative voice, her green eyes troubled as she approached him. He must be in his eighties, and because of his frailty she was immediately worried about him. What on earth was he doing out here on his own? Surely someone ought to be looking out for him?
‘I’m just a bit short of breath,’ he managed. ‘I’ll be fine in a minute.’
‘Were you trying to get over to the seat?’ she asked, and he nodded. ‘Perhaps I could help you, then?’ she suggested, and when he acquiesced she lent a supporting arm so that he could lean on her.
Slowly, they covered the short distance to the bench and she steadied him as he lowered himself down onto the seat.
‘Thank you,’ he said, gasping for air as he finally leaned back against the trunk of the tree.
Louise sat down beside him. ‘Just rest there for a while,’ she said. ‘You looked as though you were about to stumble. Were you feeling dizzy?’
He nodded, clearly unable to answer her right then. Sitting this close to him, she could hear the wheezing in his chest, and she frowned.
‘Are you on any kind of medication?’ she wondered. ‘It’s just that I’m a doctor and I can see that you’re very pale, and it’s clear that you were finding it difficult to go on.’
He put a shaky hand to his chest, patting his ribcage. ‘The ticker’s not all it used to be.’ He began to fumble in his pockets, but Louise realised that he was struggling and intervened.
‘Do you have some tablets that you need to take? Perhaps I could help you to find them?’
He made a weary inclination of his head. ‘In my pocket,’ he said.
‘This one?’ Louise carefully slid her hand into his jacket where he indicated, and drew out a small plastic bottle. She read the label. ‘These are to slow your heart rate and lower your blood pressure,’ she murmured. ‘Would it be best for you to take one of these tablets now? I have a bottle of water on me.’
‘Yes, thanks.’ There was a hint of relief in his voice.
She opened the container and tipped a tablet into his palm, and then she unscrewed the lid off her water bottle and held it out to him. ‘I’m sorry I don’t have a cup,’ she said. ‘Will you manage?’
Again he tilted his head in acknowledgement, but she could see that he was still shaky, and so she helped him with the bottle and watched as he sipped some of the liquid, swallowing the tablet down.
‘It will take awhile for the medicine towork,’ Louise murmured. ‘You should just sit and rest for a while. You don’t need to talk if it’s difficult for you. Just take your time.’
She sat with him and he closed his eyes for a while. Later, when he appeared to have recovered a little, she said quietly, ‘Is there anyone I can call who could come and take you home?’
‘I was with my grandson,’ he said, sucking in a ragged breath, his voice a little cracked with strain. ‘We were having a cup of tea together in town, but he had to go off and make some phone calls.’
‘And he didn’t come back?’
He shook his head. ‘I expect it was something important.’
Louise frowned. ‘So…let me see if I have this right… You were with your grandson, but he left you on your own so that he could go and call someone?’
‘No, they called him.’
‘Oh, I see.’ She didn’t, not really, but at least the old gentleman seemed to be breathing a little more easily now, and Louise was pleased about that. Even so, he definitely wasn’t well enough to be left on his own, and it was annoying to think that his own grandson could abandon him so casually.
‘Do you have your grandson’s number—presumably he has a mobile phone with him? I could give him a ring and ask him to come and fetch you.’ She was already reaching for her phone.
‘Um…yes, I think so.’ Hesitantly, he supplied the number, and it occurred to Louise that he might be getting on in years, but his mind was still keen enough if he could recall the digits. ‘His name is James,’ he added.
‘Okay.’ Louise started to dial the number. She felt like giving James a piece of her mind for leaving his grandfather. What kind of person would go off without a care in the world and leave his grandfather to fend for himself?
The engaged tone started to bleep, and Louise felt her irritation begin to rise. She stabbed the button on her phone with her finger, shutting off the noise. What was the matter with the man? Was he so busy calling all and sundry that he had lost sight of everything else?
She tried not to let her annoyance show. ‘He’s talking on the phone,’ she told the old man. ‘I’ll try him again in a minute or two.’ She looked at him carefully. ‘You seem to have a little more colour in your cheeks now,’ she said. ‘Are you feeling a bit better?’
‘Yes, I am, thanks.’ There was still an underlying rasp to his voice, and she guessed that his chest was badly congested. If he had been one of her patients, she would have asked to check out his lungs and his heart, and she would have taken a look at his ankles to see if there was any swelling there.
‘Are you having regular check-ups at the hospital or with your GP?’ she asked. ‘Perhaps you ought to go and see someone fairly soon.’
He reached out and patted her hand. ‘You’re very kind,’ he said, giving her a smile, ‘but I’m getting on a bit these days, and there’s probably not too much that anyone can do for me.’
‘You won’t know unless you ask.’ She felt an immediate empathy towards this old gentleman. Now that he was feeling a little better, she could see that there was a faint twinkle in his eyes, and she guessed that he had been a lively soul in years gone by.
‘I’ll try your grandson again,’ she said, deftly thumbing in the numbers once more.
This time, the ringing was answered after just a short time.
‘Hello, James Ashleigh speaking.’ The tone was concise, the voice a deep, masculine timbre that was easy on the ear.
‘Hello. I’m so glad that I managed to reach you at last,’ she began. ‘I’m Louise Bridgford. I have your grandfather here with me, and I’m afraid he’s not feeling too well. I wonder if you would care to come and fetch him?’
There was a pause on the other end of the line. ‘What’s wrong with him?’
‘He’s struggling for breath and he needed to sit down for a while.’
‘Where are you?’
James was obviously a man of few words, and Louise decided to be equally succinct. ‘We’re in Castle Park, just about a quarter of a mile from the entrance.’
‘I’ll come and find you. Will you be able to stay with him until I get there?’
‘I won’t leave him on his own,’ she said in a clipped voice. She was tempted to add, unlike some, but she managed to restrain herself. No doubt her sharp manner would have been enough to convey the message.
He cut the call, and for a moment she stared down at the blank screen. So much for James Ashleigh, grandson extraordinaire… How long was it going to take for him to get here? she wondered. Would he manage to avoid any detours or distractions along the way?
She turned her attention back to the man beside her. ‘He’s coming over,’ she said.
He smiled broadly, his features relaxing properly for the first